


do you always look so beautiful in the green glow of radiation

by SleepySailorJunko



Category: The Simpsons
Genre: Anniversary, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27942266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepySailorJunko/pseuds/SleepySailorJunko
Summary: Lenny has something planned.
Relationships: Carl Carlson/Lenny Leonard
Kudos: 25





	do you always look so beautiful in the green glow of radiation

"Happy Anniversary!" 

Out of all the things Carl Carlson had expected to hear upon entering work one summer morning, doh was in the top three. Happy anniversary didn't even make the list. 

"Happy 10th!" Lenny says again, and Carl wants him to slow down. He doesn't even know what Lenny's talking about. Lenny can be unintelligible like that sometimes. 

"C'mon, say something!" There's a note of desperation sneaking into Lenny's voice, and Carl doesn't understand why. 

"What do you mean? Who's anniversary?" He asks, and then sure he's got it, he says "Oh Homer? I don't think he's come into work yet. I didn't know he and Marge had been together so long."

A shade of heartbreak crosses his friend's face, but is quickly painted over by irritation. 

"Our anniversary! Don't you remember?" Lenny's shouting, as he is prone to do in a fit of anger. Behind Carl, Homer walks in. He sees the situation, and turns to leave. 

Carl's confusion boils into frustration. 

"No, I obviously don't, or I wouldn't be asking. Would you mind explaining what the hell's going on?" 

Lenny takes out his wallet and throws it at Carl, storming off to do his job. 

It's very strange for Carl to not spend time at work with Lenny. Generally, they work together. That's just how these things go. 

He peeks at Lenny's wallet during lunch. There's $39 dollars cash, (mostly in twos), several receipts and a few pictures. Oh, and Lenny's driver's license, a prescription for eye medication, and a business card recommending glass eyes. 

What was he supposed to do with that?

* * *

The receipts are mainly for Moe's, and one for a purchase of a rock chisel. Talk about odd, but hey, a guy like Lenny deserves to have a hobby.

He looks at the photos. The one in the spot of honor is a small, badly lit photo. It's of him and Lenny. Huh, whataya know?

"So...uh. Hey, Carl, what was up with you and Lenny this morning?" Homer asks, in between bites of doughnut.

"I dunnoe. He started talking to me right when I got into the plant this morning. He was going on about some anniversary, and I had no Idea what he was talking about. I said as much, and he threw his wallet at me." 

"Really, aw, let me see."

Carl handed over the wallet, and Homer nosily poked through it. His balding coworker squinted nosily at one of the photographs. 

"Ha, look, I'm in this picture." Homer was in fact, in the background of the shot. It was a badly worn photo, but Carl asked out of curiosity. 

"Homer, do you remember where we took this picture?"

"Oh yeah, of course I do. It was next to that place with the delicious crepes. Mhmmm, crepes." Homer drooled a little, then remembered he had half a doughnut in hand. Stuffing himself with that, he continued. "Y'know, where you and Lenny got married."

"Where Lenny and I got married? What the hell are you talking about?" This day was just confusing him more every hour. 

"Boy, you really don't remember." Homer looked puzzled for a second. Then he explained the events of a night ten years past. 

It was a warm summer's night, as many nights were. Three friends from Springfield, **[REDACTED]** were visiting Las Vegas for a weekend. It was a few months after Homer's boy, Bart, was born, and Marge was upset with him for some reason Homer couldn't remember. Carl, having known Homer since childhood, thought that he had probably deserved it. 

* * *

Homer's story was about useless. The conclusion that Carl came to was that for an unknown reason, he and Lenny had gotten hitched at Las Vegas chapel. For further unknown reasons, Lenny was honoring the tenth anniversary of a drunken stupor's decisions. 

It was probably time for him to talk to Lenny about this. Problem was, he couldn't talk to Lenny if Lenny didn't want to be found. 

He searched half the town before finding his friend in the green shirt. Lenny was just kinda sitting in the park. Not drinking or anything, just sitting there real quiet like. 

"Hey, Lenny."Carl said. 

"Carl."Lenny responded. 

"So about this morning-"

"Look, do you have my wallet or no?"

"Your wallet? Listen, I just want to talk."

"Well, I don't. Give me my wallet back. I need my license." He paused for a second. "I can't get caught driving without it again, or my insurance won't cover my eye." 

Carl handed Lenny's wallet back. 

"What was this morning about?" Carl asked.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." Lenny stood up, and started walking. 

"Where are you going?" Carl asked. 

"Back to the plant. I gotta get my car."

"Hold on, I'll drive you."

"No, don't bother. I just want to be alone."

A crack of lightning split the sky, and rain started to pour, as if they had been waiting for Lenny to say that. 

"On second thought, yeah sure, I'll take a ride."

They piled into Carl's car. Lenny's quiet, and Carl wants him to explain what was going on. Because he got such clear answers every other time he asked. But he asks about something else instead.

"Why did you have so much stuff about eyes in your wallet anyhow?"

"I got a...uh...thing in my eye."

"Really? Shit, Lenny, that sucks."

"Yeah. It's from my time.uh.."Lenny pauses and makes motions with his hands and can't seem to find the words to explain, but Carl already knows. Lenny rubs at the scruff on his face. 

Silence fills the car again. They're further out from the plant than Carl thought. 

"Look, I thought you knew." Lenny blurts, like he's tired of keeping everything bottled up. "I thought you remembered."

And then before Carl can get a word in edgewise, Lenny finishes. "But you didn't and that's fine and it doesn't mean anything."

And Carl is left with more questions than answers yet again. He pulls up to the plant to drop Lenny off and Lenny opens the door. 

"I'll see you at work tomorrow." He says and runs off into the night. 


End file.
